Bowling ball lift



March 2, 1954 .1. M. ERNST BOWLING BALL LIFT Filed June 10, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet l 729 /31 L I L L L 152 /38 133 134 (L j =1 J a: 5: E 732a W F 130 INVENTOR v JOHN M. ERNST ATTORNEY March 2, 1954 J. M. ERNST 2,670,957

BOWLING BALL. LIFT Filed June 10, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JOHN M. ERNST ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 2, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOWLING BALL LIFT John M. Ernst, Butler, Ind., assignor to American Machine &- Foundry Company, .a corporation of New Jersey Application June 10, 1948, Serial No. 32,080

.23 Claims. (01. 273-49) for removing a bowling ball from the pit of a bowling Lalleyand returning 'it'to the player along a ball return runway.

Bowling ball lifting mechanisms designed here- :tofore have primarily been of the type which rcome up from beneath rather than down from above to grip and remove the ball from the pit of a bowling alley. This arrangement of coming up from beneath usually necessitated cavities :being formed in the pit so that the thrown bowling ball would not strike the ball lift and become damaged, .and also :to facilitate the ball rolling on top .of the ball lifting members. Such special designing of the pit was not only expensive and objectionableabut it was found that this construction .sometimes resulted in pins becoming entangled and elevated by the ball lift.

It is therefore an object of my present invention to overcome the disadvantages mentioned by providing a mechanical grab type ball lifting device which comes down from above and mechanically grabs and removes the ball from the 'pit .of .a bowling alley without getting under or lifting bowling pins lying on the pit floor in the vicinity of the bowling ball.

A further object is to provide a grab type ball lift having a rang extending across a pit which .can .remove a thrown bowling ball from the pit "immediately after it has struck the pins without :waiting for the alley to be cleared of fallen pins.

Another object is to provide a driving mechanism for the ball lift which will travel in a continuous path while transmitting a reciprocating movement to a ball lift until the ball is picked up successfully.

A further object is to provide a mechanical grab type ball lift which will be automatically locked by the weight of the bowling ball being lifted from the pit of a bowling alley.

Another object is to provide an automatic bowling ball lift which continues recycling to pick up a ball if it fails to do so on its first attempt.

Another object is to provide a ball lifting device wherein mechanical ball contacting members will be yieldably mountedso as to travel around opposite sides of a bowling ball to grab the same.

Another object is to provide a lifting device which will act as a combined ball elevator and transverse ball return runway along which the ballrolls to be discharged onto a longitudinal runway directing the ball back to the player,

Another object is to provide a grab type ball lift which will be spread open by a ball itself to bring the lift into ball holding position.

Another object is to elevate bowling balls in front of the cushion while delivering pins under the cushion to a pin elevator at the rear of the cushion.

Another object is to provide an improved method for separating and removing balls and pins from the pit of a bowling alley.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear as the description of the particular physical embodiment selected to illustrate the invention progresses. In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, iike characters of reference have been applied to-corresponding parts throughout the several views which make up the drawings.

Fig. .1 is an isometric front elevation illustrating the automatic grab type bowling ball lift and its operating mechanism installed over the pit of a bowling alley.

Fig. 2 is an isometric end elevation of the ball cradle showing the detailed construction of the mechanism for rotating the ball lift bar.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are end elevations of the ball cradle illustrating the successive steps of the ball gripping and lifting action of the same.

My invention is particularly well suited for use withan automatic pin setting machine which performs the usual functions of a pin boy in clearing an alley of all pins, setting new sets of pins on a bowling alley and removing fallen pins from the bowling alley. If desired reference may be made to U. S. Patent 2,346,189, granted April 11, 1944, to .J. Schmidt showing one type of automatic pin setting machine to which I refer. My ball lifting apparatus is mounted across the back end of a bowling alley between the kick backs in and I2 and travels up and down in front of a conventional ball stopping bumper or cushion l4 pivotally suspended from studs 13 and I5. When the roller It is driven it causes the carpet It to travel in the direction indicated by the arrow to forward the bowling ball and all fallen pins towards the rear of the pit. Suitable means such as a tilting pit or a sweep could also be used in lieu of the carpet 18 to forward bowling balls and pins to the rear of the pit.

Ball cushion M is swingingly supported on suitable studs I3 and i5 mounted on :the uprights -20 and 2.2 respectively. The bottom of the ball cushion I4 is spaced from the carpet [8 a .dis-

andgreater than the widest diameter of a bowl ing pin to permit bowling pins to pass under the cushion but to maintain the bowling ball in front of the cushion I4. On either side of the continuously traveling carpet I8 are mounted two upright rails 26 and 22 which are supported at their upper ends by skeleton framework 24 of an automatic pin setting machine and at their lower ends by the kick back walls III and I2. Carriages 26 and 28 having rollers 30 and 32, respectively, are mounted on the upright rails and 22.

Yieldable drag links 34 and 36 are pivotally connected to their respective carriages and 28 at one end and are pivotally connected at their other end to the sprocket chains 38 and 40 respectively for raising and lowering the carriages 2t and 28. Each drag link 34 and 36 is made yieldable by a suitable pivot 42, interposed between the ends of said links to allow the links 34 and 36 to flex when the ball lift engages with the ball and the bottom of the pit. Suitable studs are mounted on the flexible drag links 34 and 36 to prevent the pivots 42 from going on dead center with respect to their pivotal end connections.

Each carriage 26 and 28 has a slotted opening and 52 in which is mounted a roller bar 54. The roller bar 54 is held in said slotted openings 50 and 52 by means of suitable collars 56 mounted on the ends thereof. (Zurved or are shaped yokes 58 and Ell having a diameter larger than that of a bowling ball are pivotally connected by means of pivots 62 and 64 to the carriages 2d and 23 respectively. The opposite ends of the curved yokes 58 and have a roller bar 66 mounted therein.

The roller 66 is moved to its lowermost position by the force of gravity and is spaced from roller 54 by means of stops and 61 engaging with their respective carriages 26 and 28.

Between the ends of each semi circular yoke 58 and 60 is mounted a stabilizing bar 68 which braces the yokes 58 and 60 with each other and at the same time helps to prevent the bowling ball B from jumping out of the cradle formed by the roller bars 54 and 66.

By attaching the cradle lifting drag link 34 to the sprocket chain 38 a few links in advance of the section of sprocket chain 4!] to which the drag link 36 is connected, the ball lift will be tilted as it is elevated and thus cause the bowling ball to roll on rollers 54 and 66 towards the discharge end of the ball lift as shown in Fig. 1.

A ball guard It! is mounted on the kick back I2 to prevent the bowling ball B from rolling out through the yoke 63 before it reaches the highest part of longitudinal ball return runway rails I2 and I4 where the ball is discharged. Rails 72 and I4 are supported by a suitable bracket 80. A cam surface It (Figs. 1 and 2) is formed on one side of the guard 'Iil so that as the grab type ball lift is elevated a roller I8 mounted on the end of roller bar 66 will engage therewith. By rotating the bar 56 it causes th bowling ball B to roll as it is elevated and thus prevents the ball from becoming stopped on the rollers 54 and 65 such as might occur if a finger hole of the bowling ball contacts the bar roller 54 or B6.

The carriages 26 and 28 are raised and lowered by suitable means such as sprocket chains 38 and 40 traveling over pairs of suitably spaced sprockets 82 and 8d. Sprockets 82 are freely mounted on studs 85 supported in the kick back walls I0 and I2 while sprockets 84 are fixedly in suitable bearings fixed on the skeleton frame 25. Sprockets 92 are fixedly mounted on the other end of shafts 88 and are driven by sprocket chains 94 from the sprockets 96. Sprockets 96 are fixedly mounted on the ends of a shaft 98 which is driven by sprocket I00. Sprocket I50 is driven by chain I92 from the sprocket I94 of a gear reduction box I08.

Motor M, through a conventional combination clutch and brake I88, imparts driving movement to the mechanism inside of the gear reduction box I86. The motor M may be driven continuously from the main power lines I29 and I3I when the alley on which my invention is employed is in use. Clutch I68 is engaged and disengaged by means f a solenoid IIG through a connecting link II2 pivoting on stud IM of the gear reduction box I65. Gear reduction box I06 and motor M as well as the solenoid I It are connected to and supported by the skeleton framework 24 of the automatic pin setting machine.

Various devices may be employed for starting the operation of an automatic pin spotting machine upon the throwing of a bowling hall. For purposes of illustration I have shown this starting mechanism to be a conventional photoelectric cell device consisting of a source of light I26 and a photoelectric cell I28. The light source I26 and the photoelectric cell I28 may be located on opposite sides of the bowling alley in front of the positions on which bowling pins are spotted and when a bowling ball is thrown it interrupts the light beam as the ball travels towards the pins. 7

This interruption of the light beam of the photoelectric cell I28 causes a conventional amplifier ISQ to momentarily energize the relay I32 through wires I3 1 and I36. This momentary energization of relay I32 closes a contact I32a which causes ciurent to flow from the power line I3I, through Wires I33, I38, I50, I49, relay I44, wires I4 I, I48 through the normally closed switch I22, through wire I 12 to the main power line I29 thereby causing the hold in relay I44 to be energized and close contact M Ia.

When the hold in relay Hi l is energized in this manner electrical current flows from the main line I3I through wires I52, I59, MB through relay i through wires It i I28, normally closed switch I22, wire #22 to the main power line I29. Current also flows from the main power line I3I through wires I52, I58, I 56, solenoid H0, wires I5 2, i 38, switch 222, wire I22 to the main power line I29. This flow of current through solenoid IIB energizes the same and causes the plunger II I to he pulled in thereby pivoting the lever arm I I2 to engage the clutch N32. The engagement of clutch I63 causes drive sprocket I04 to be driven thereby raising and lowering the grab type ball lift made up of bars 54 and 68. When a bowling ball B is carried upwardly by the bars 54 and 6B of the ball lift it engages the rod H6 and switch I22 is opened by means of connecting link I24 and the circuit energizing the hold in relay I44 will be thus interrupted. This interrupts the flow of current through the wires just mentioned and consequently the solenoid I I0 is deenergized causing the clutch I88 to disengage and a brake to be applied thereby causing the ball lift to stop at a position where the bars 54*. and 56 are level with rails I2 and I4.

The operation of my invention may be briefly described as follows:

After the bowling ball is thrown it travels down the alley and momentarily interrupts the light it is connected at one end. When the normally closed switch I22 is opened in this manner by a bowling ball engaging with the trigger bar H6 it interrupts the flow of current through wires I48 and I42. As a consequence the current no longer flows through the relay i44 thereby deenergizing the same. The current flowing through the solenoid l H] is similarly interrupted causing the armature plunger ill to be released and thereby disengage the clutch I08 through the pivoted link H2.

In the event that a bowling ball is not picked up by the bars 54 and 66 on their first descent the carriages 26 and 28 would nevertheless be elevated by their respective drag link connections 34 and 36 and when they reach their upper limit of travel the trigger bar H6 would not be actuated in the manner described because there is no ball present in the ball lift to swing the trigger bar H6. Therefore the switch 122 would not be opened and the hold-in relay I44 and the solenoid I would not be deenergized. As a consequence sprocket chains 38 and 48 continue traveling in an endless path and when the links of the sprocket chains to which the drag links 34 and 36 are connected pass around the sprockets 84 and begin traveling downwardly the carriages 26 and 28 are lowered a second time. The ball lift continues recycling in this manner until it succeeds in picking up a ball. If desired, suitable mechanism such as a stepper switch may be employed to allow the ball lift to recycle a predetermined number of times and then stop the lift in its uppermost position.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a grab type ball lift which comes down from above and quickly grabs a ball located below the lift. When the ball is elevated it is positively moved along the length of the ball lift towards the discharge end thereof. It will also be noted that I have provided a lift which is simple in construction and positive in its action since the ball is used for locking the ball lifting bars in place when the ball is being elevated.

Likewise I have accomplished my objective of providing a reliable ball lifting mechanism which will automatically continue recycling until it finally succeeds in picking up the ball.

It should be noted that the reciprocation of the ball lifting apparatus up and down is accomplished by relatively simple structure and thus there is less opportunity for a breakdown to occur than when structures of more complicated design are employed. As will be appreciated, for a ball lift to have a practical application in an automatic pin setting machine, it must stand up under long periods of operation without having a serviceman present constantly making repairs and replacements.

The invention above described may be varied in construction within the scope of the claims for the particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many possible embodiments of the same. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for removing a bowling ball from the pit of a bowling alley and returning it to the player via a ball return runway, comprising a support movable down towards the pit of a bowling alley and upwardly towards a level substantially equal to the highest portion of a ball return runway, a pair of spaced elongated bars movable towards and away from each other,

means connecting said bars to said support for travel therewith, a drive for lowering said bars around opposite sides of a bowling ball, means for causing said bars to move toward each other and under the bowling ball, means for elevating said support and bars to lift a bowling ball, and means for delivering the bowling ball from said bars to the ball return runway.

2. A bowling ball lifting apparatus comprising carriages mounted for up and down movement on either side of the pit of a bowling alley, arouate yokes having two ends each, one of which ends is pivotally connected to each of said carriages, a ball lifting bar connected at opposite ends to said carriages, a second ball lifting bar connected to the opposite ends of said yokes for movement towards and away from said firstmentioned bar, a stop for limiting the movement of said second bar towards said first bar to a distance less than the diameter of a bowling ball, mechanism for lowering said carriages to allow said bars to move downwardly and around the outside circumference of a bowling ball and for raising said carriages to elevate a bowling ball supported from beneath said bars, and a ball return runway positioned to receive bowling balls elevated by said bars and to return said balls to the player.

3. Apparatus for lifting a bowling ball from the pit of a bowling alley and delivering it to a ball return runway extending along the length of a bowling alley comprising a pair of elongated parallel bars extending between opposite sides of the pit of the bowling alley, mechanism for urging said bars towards each other, a stop device for spacing said bars from each other a distance less than the diameter of a bowling ball, a support to which said bars are connected, mechanism for lowering said support and bars towards the bowling alley to cause said bars to be spread apart by engaging with opposite sides of the outside circumference of the bowling ball and to move together on the underside of the bowling ball to be gripped and for raising said support and bars to elevate and deliver the bowling ball so gripped to said ball return runway, and means for causing said bowling ball to be moved along the length of said bars to discharge the same onto said ball return runway.

4. A bowling ball lifting apparatus comprising a pair of parallel bars extending between opposite sides of the pit of the bowling alley, a support to which said bars are connected, said bars being movable apart a distance greater than the diameter of a bowling ball, a yieldable device for urging said bars to move towards each other, a stop limiting the distance said bars can move towards each other, said distance being less than the diameter of a bowling ball, means for moving a bowling ball towards one side of the pit of the bowling alley, and a device for lowering said bars downwardly in front of said side of the pit over a bowling ball to cause said bars to be first spread apart by the bowling ball and then to come together underneath the ball and for then raising said bars to elevate the ball to a ball discharge station.

5. A bowling ball lifting apparatus adapted to be used with an automatic pin setting machine for a bowling alley comprising a movable support, a bar extending across the width of the pit of the bowling alley and held by said support, a second bar extending across the width of the pit of the bowling alley and mounted on said support for parallel movement towards and away said first-named bar, a stop for-limiting the distance said second bar can move towards said bar, said distance being less than the diameter oi. a bowling ball, means for urging said second bar towards said first bar, a device for low ering said support towards the pit of the bowling alley where bowling balls are located to allow said bars to engage and :move downward around the outside circumference of a bowling ball located in said pit to a position underneath the ball, mechanism for raising said -bars to elevate a bowling ball to a ball return runway, and discharging means for moving said bowling ball onto said ball return runway.

:6. Apparatus for removing bowling balls from the pit of a bowling alley comprising a pair of parallel bars extending across the pit of a bowling alley, a device for yieldably urging at least one :of said bars towards the other, a stop for limiting the distance said bars can move towards each other, said distance being less than the diameterof a bowling ball, and a device for lowering said parallel bars towards the pit of a bowlingialley to cause said bars to slide around and under a bowling ball located in said pit and for raising a bowling ball by means of said parallel bars for delivery to a ball return runway.

7. Apparatus for removing bowling balls from the pit of a bowling alley comprising a pair of parallel bars mounted for movement towards and away from each other, means for yielda'b'ly urg ing at least one of said bars towards the other of said bars, a stop for limiting the distance said bars can move towards each other to an amount less than the diameter of a bowling ball, a device for lowering said parallel bars from a ball discharge station towards the pit of a bowling alley to. cause said bars to move around opposite sides of and under a bowling ball to be elevated out of said pit and for raising said bars to elevate a howling ball, and means for tilting said parallel bars as said bowling ball is elevated by said parallel bars to roll the ball along said bars towards a ball return runway located at said ball discharge station.

.8. Apparatus for removing bowling balls from the pit of a bowling alley comprising a pair of parallel bars yieldably mounted for movement towards and away from each other, a stop limiting the extent said yieldably mounted parallel bars can move together, said extent being less than the diameter of a bowling ball, a device for lowering said bars from a ball discharge station towards the pit of a bowling alley to cause said bars to slide around opposite sides of a bowling ball and for raising said bowling ball held by said yieldable bars out of the pit of the bowling alley, and means for effecting movement of a bowling ball along the length of said parallel bars towards the point of discharge as said bowling ball is elevated by said bars.

9. The method of removing bowling balls from the pit of a bowling alley which comprises moving bowling balls towards one side of the pit, stopping said bowling balls from further travel at. a. predetermined station, coming down from above. with an elongated mechanical grab-type gripper extending across said side of the pit to grip a bowling ball located at said station from above, and then lifting andd-isch-arging said bowling ball onto a ball return runway extending along the length or a bowling alley.

Ill. Apparatus for lifting a bowling ball from the; pit; of a. bowlingalley to the highest part of a ball return runway extending along the length of the bowling alley, said apparatus comprising a pair of parallel bars extending across the pit of the bowling alley, a mounting yieldably urging at least one of said bars towards the other of said bars, mechanism for forwarding a bowling ":ball to a predetermined area of the pit of the bowling alley, a device for lowering said parallel bars towards said area to cause said bars to slide around opposite sides of said ball and to move towards each other on the under side :of said ball and then raising said parallel bars to .a :discharge station and means for moving said ball .onto the said highest part of the .ball return runway extending along the length of the bowling alley.

:11. A ball lifting apparatus adapted for use with an automatic .pin setting machine comprising vertical uprights mounted on opposite sides of the pit of a bowling alley, means for moving a thrown bowling ball to a predetermined ball pick-- up area of the pit, guides mounted for up and down movement on said uprights, a sprocket chain apparatus traveling in an endless path for raising and lowering :drag links connecting said guides with said sprocket chain apparatus to reciprocate said guides on said vertical uprights when said chain apparatus travels in an endless path, a roller ibar supported at opposite ends by said guides, arc-shaped members having an internal diameter greater than the diameter of a bowling ball, means for pivotally' connecting an arc-shaped member at one end to each of said guides with the open portion of each arc lacing downwardly, a second roller bar connected at opposite ends to said arc-shaped members to be moved with said members towards said firstnamed roller bar, mechanism for imparting driving movement to said sprocket chain apparatus to lower said guides to slide said roller bars around opposite sides or and under a bowling ball located in the pick-up area in the pit of the bowling alley, and then lii'tthe bowling ball supported by said bars to a ball return runway connecting with the adjacent-ends of said roller bars when in their uppermost position, and means for discharging said ball from said roller bars ontosaid ball return runway.

12. A ball lift ioran automatic pin setting machine comprising an elongated ball lifting device extending across the pit of a bowling alley for removing bowling balls from the pit, a continuous traveling sprocket chain, a drag link interconnecting one portion of said sprocket chain with said ball lifting device to raise and lower said ball lifting device in timed relation with the travel of said sprocket chain, mechanism for starting the operation of said sprocket chain in response to the rolling of a bowling ball towards said pit, and a bowling ball detector for stopping the operation of said chain each time a bowling ball iselevated by said ball lifting device. I,

13. A ball lifting apparatus for an. automatic pin setting machine comprising a. pair of par-ailel elongated bars extending across the width or a bowling alley pit, means for yieldably urging said bars together, stop means for limiting the 'distance said bars can move together said distance beingless than the diameter of a bowling ball, mechanism alternately lowering said bars towards the pit of a bowling alley to lower said barsaroundthe outside of a bowling ball into ball gripping position on the lower side of said ball and raising said bars and the bowling ball supported thereon to a ball delivery station, and a 11 de-activating device positioned to be actuated by a bowling ball supported on said bars to stop said mechanism from lowering and raising said bars after a bowling ball has been elevated by said elongated bars.

14. A ball lifting apparatus for an automatic pin setting machine comprising a ball-elevating support, a horizontal bar mounted on said ballelevating support, a member pivotally mounted on and travelling with said support for supporting a second bar, a stop for limting the distance said second bar can move towards said firstnamed bar, said distance being less than the diameter of a bowling ball, means for lowering said ball-elevating support towards the pit of a bowling alley to cause said bars to slide around opposite sides of and under a bowling ball and for raising said support to bring said ball to a ball discharge station, said stop being so positioned that a straight line passing through the center of said pivotal mounting and said second bar will be below the center of gravity of a bowling ball with which the bars have engaged, a ball-return runway, and means for moving a bowling ball along said bars onto said ball-return runway.

15. Apparatus for handling the bowling balls and bowling pins located in the pit of a bowling alley comprising a ball bumper spaced from the floor of the pit a distance greater than the largest diameter of a bowling pin and less than the diameter of a bowling ball, a conveyor for forwarding a bowling ball located in the pit of the bowling alley up against the bumper and forwarding bowling pins in the pit under the bumper to a pin elevating device located in back of the bumper, a grab-type ball lift consisting of a pair of spaced, substantially horizontal parallel members, mechanism for lowering said members in front of said bumper around opposite sides of a bowling ball located in said pit, means for urging said members toward each other and under the bowling ball, means for elevating said members and ball in front of said bumper, and means for discharging the ball directly onto a ball-return runway running lengthwise of the bowling alley.

16. A ball return mechanism for use with a bowling alley having a longitudinal ball return runway for returning a bowling ball to a player, saidball return mechanism comprising parallel bars transversely positioned with respect to said longitudinal ball return runway, a yieldable mounting for said parallel bars to permit them to slide downwardly around opposite sides of a bowling ball, means for causing said bars to move toward each other and under the bowling ball, apparatus for continuously lowering and raising said parallel bars between the pit of a bowling alley and a ball delivery station, automatic means actuated by a thrown bowling ball for starting said apparatus in operation, a de-activating device positioned at said ball delivery station for stopping the operation of said apparatus, and a bowling ball detector positioned in the path or" an elevated bowling ball for actuating said device each time an elevated bowling ball is detected.

17. Apparatus for lifting a bowling ball from the pit of a bowling alley and delivering said ball onto a longitudinal runway for return to a player said apparatus comprising uprights mounted on opposite sides of the pit of a bowling alley, a bowling ball bumper positioned across the far end of the pit of the bowling alley, mechanism for forwarding a bowling ball up against said bumper, a carriage mounted for up and down movement on each of said uprights, curved yokes having an inside diameter larger than that of a bowling ball, each of said yokes being pivotally connected at one end to one of said carriages, a bar interconnecting the opposite ends of said curved yokes, a stop limiting the distance each of said yokes can swing towards said carriages to an amount less than the diameter of a bowling ball, a second bar interconnecting said carriages and mounted substantially parallel with respect to said first-mentioned bar, operating mechanism for first lowering said carriages towards the pit of the bowling alley to allow said bars to slide around opposite sides of a bowling ball and into positions on the underside of said ball spaced a distance less than the diameter of a bowling ball so that the center of gravity of the bowling ball will be located above a plane containing the axes of said bars thereby causing the weight of the bowling ball to hold said parallel bars together and then raising said bars to elevate a bowling ball for delivery to said longitudinal ball return runway, and means for delivering the bowling ball to the ball return runway.

18. Apparatus for lifting a bowling ball from the pit of a bowling alley and delivering the ball to a ball return runway, said apparatus comprising elongated ball grabbing members extending across the pit of a bowling alley, a support to which said members are attached to be spread apart by a bowling ball when lowered into engagement with the top thereof, means for bringing said ball grabbing members towards each other on the underside of the bowling ball, the component of force exerted by said means to bring said ball grabbing members together being greater than the component of force exerted by said bowling ball to spread said members apart, and operating mechanism for raising said ball grabbing members from the pit of a bowling alley to a ball discharge station, and means for delivering a bowling ball held by said lift onto a ball return runway.

19. Apparatus for lifting a bowling ball from the pit of a bowling alley and delivering the ball to a ball return runway, said apparatus comprising ball engaging members yieldably connected to each other so that they can be spread apart by a bowling ball when lowered into engagement with the top of a bowling ball, means for bringing said ball engaging members towards each other on the underside of a bowling ball, means preventing said ball engaging members from spreading apart when elevating a bowling ball, mechanism for lowering said members into ball lifting position and raising said members to a ball delivery station, and means for delivering a bowling ball from said members to a ball return runway.

20. Apparatus for removing bowling balls from the pit of a bowling alley comprising mechanism for moving bowling balls to one side of the pit of a bowling alley, a ball return runway extending along the length of the bowling alley, said runway having a raised end for receiving bowling balls to be returned to a player, a plurality of parallel ball elevating bars, bar supports yieldably mounting at least one of said bars for movement around the side of a bowling bal1 to engage the same from beneath, a stop for spacing said bars at a distance from each other which is less than the diameter of a bowling ball, means for urging at least one of said bars towards said stop after said bars are lowered around opposite sides of the bowling ball to bring said bar underneath the bowling ball, mechanism for elevating said ball by means of said bars to a level substantially the same as the raised end of said runway, means for rolling a bowling 'ball towards one end of said bars, and means for rotating one of said bars to facilitate moving the ball along the length of said parallel bars to discharge the same directly onto the raised end of said ball return runway.

21. In a bowling ball lifting apparatus, a, pair of parallel ball lifting bars, a support for said bars to permit them to be moved apart by a bowling ball onto which said bars have been lowered, a stop fOr limiting the distance said bars can move towards each other to a distance less than the diameter of a bowling ball, means for urging said bars towards each other into ball supporting position, means for maintaining said bars in ball supporting position when elevating a bowling ball, a device for lowering said bars towards the pit of a bowling alley around a bowling ball to be lifted to engage the ball from underneath and for raising said bars to elevate the ball to a ball discharge station, and means for discharging said ball from said members onto a ball return runway.

22. Bowling ball lifting apparatus comprising a pair of parallel ball lifting bars extending across the pit of a bowling alley, a. support for said bars to permit them to be moved apart by a bowling ball onto which said bars have been lowered, a device for urging said bars towards each other into ball supporting position, a stop for limiting the distance said bars can move towards each other to a distance less than the diameter of a bowling ball, means for maintaining starting said drive into operation when a bowling ball is thrown, a device for incapacitating said drive and a detector positioned to be engaged by an elevated bowling ball for actuating said incapacitating device to stop said ball elevating bars at the ball discharge station when a bowling ball has been elevated.

23. Apparatus for removing bowling balls from the pit of a bowling alley comprising a ball stop positioned along one side of the pit of a bowling alley, means for forwarding a bowling ball located in the pit up against said stop, ball elevator supports, a plurality of arms pivotally connected at one end to said supports, a ball engaging bar interconnecting the opposite ends of said arms, a second ball engaging bar suspended by said supports in a position parallel to said first-named bar, a stop limiting the distance said first-named bar can move towards said secondnamed bar so that the first-named bar and pivotal connections of said first-named bar lie in a plane located below the center of gravity of the bowling ball to eilect thereby a locking action by a ball being elevated by said parallel bars, and means for reciprocating said ball elevator supports in a vertical plane in the vicinity of said ball stop to move said parallel bars from ball grabbing position to ball discharge position.

JOHN M. ERNST.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,412,201 Westerhaus Apr. 11, 1922 1,658,145 Uyei Feb. 7, 1928 2,019,607 Hedenskoog Nov. 5, 1935 2,242,069 Heiniger May 13, 1941 2,346,189 Schmidt Apr. 11, 1944 2,392,174 Metz Jan. 1, 1946 

